Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

Ethics Commission Asked to Rule on UNR Prof-Regent Rosenberg

The request from Richard Jarvis, chancellor of the University and Community College System of Nevada, went to Ethics Commission Chairwoman Mary Boetsch. The panel will decide at a Jan. 23 meeting in Las Vegas whether it has jurisdiction to consider the query.

Jarvis said he'd like to get an answer before Rosenberg actually takes office, which could occur as early as Jan. 8 or as late as Jan. 31 when university regents have their first full board meeting of the year.

The chancellor asked whether Rosenberg's employment as a University of Nevada, Reno professor, earning $70,170 a year, will be automatically terminated once he takes office as a regent.

He also asked whether the regents would be faced with a challenge of a close vote on a controversial issue as a result of Rosenberg's presence; and whether his supervisors could perform an honest and frank evaluation of his work as a professor when they know he oversees them as a regent.

Also, Jarvis questioned whether Rosenberg could face criminal charges for taking compensation contrary to conflict-of-interest states.

Jarvis attached to his letter a memo from the system's general counsel, Don Klasic, saying he believes the only way Rosenberg can serve as a regent is to resign as a professor.

Rosenberg already has said he'll ignore a recent Legislative Counsel Bureau opinion that says he is ineligible to serve as a regent because he's a professor. "I was elected and I intend to serve," he added.

A UNR professor for 29 years, Rosenberg pulled an upset to win a regents' seat despite being outspent 3-1 by his rival, getting 51 percent of the vote to Mary-Ellen McMullen's 49 percent.

McMullen enjoyed strong ties to the state's university and political systems as a University of Nevada, Reno Foundation trustee and vice president of the McMullen Strategic Group. The firm is owned by her husband, Sam, a well-known legislative lobbyist.

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